


Bumbleby Week 2019

by RomanRuler



Category: RWBY
Genre: Bumbleby Week 2019, But there's some Whiterose too, Drabbles, Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Light Angst, Post-Volume 5 (RWBY), Romance, Volume 6 (RWBY)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-06-28 18:49:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19818367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomanRuler/pseuds/RomanRuler
Summary: A collection of stories featuring Blake and Yang, in honor of Bumbleby Week! And some Whiterose on the side, too!





	1. Dinner in Menagerie

**Author's Note:**

> Heya folks! Just thought I'd say thanks right off the bat right here! This is my first Bumbleby Week (I began watching RWBY right after Whiterose Week, so I unfortunately couldn't make it in time for that), so it means a lot to me that you took time out to read this! Each chapter is sorta loosely connected since they're all in chronological order, but whether you read just one or all of them, I can guarantee they're all fluffy drabbles about Blake and Yang. So without further ado, thanks again for reading, and here's to the start of Bumbleby Week 2019!

Yang nervously wrings her hands together as her and Blake stand outside the large doors of a house in Menagerie. Specifically, outside the doors of Blake’s _parents’ house_. 

She’s glad that Blake took her on a walk of the island before they arrived. The fresh air helped calm Yang down a little bit, and she appreciates all the jokes and gentle touches Blake gave her along the way to make her more comfortable. If they were going to stay longer, Yang would’ve already begun planning possible dates on the boardwalk or at the beach, but they promised their friends that they would only stay in Menagerie for a single day, and come tomorrow morning, her and Blake plan on catching the first boat back to Mistral so they can be back by midday. 

Yang has to keep reminding herself that it’s just dinner with Blake and her parents parents. Even if they hate her, she thinks bluntly to herself, they’ll be gone by the morning and she can get out of their hair! 

Before she starts picking off her fingernail out of sheer nervousness, Blake reaches over and holds her right hand. Turning to look at her, she has a warm smile on her face. 

“You don’t have to be worried about anything.” Blake says encouragingly. “My parents are gonna love you.” 

Yang shuffles around in place and wonders why it’s taking them so long to answer the door. “And what if they don’t?” 

Leaning over, Blake plants a kiss on her cheek. “Then I still will.” 

Yang’s face turns a subtle shade of pink and she’s about to kiss her girlfriend when the sound of the front doors screeching open startles her. Thankfully, though, Blake’s hand anchors her down and saves her from the embarrassment of falling down.

“Blake!” A woman who Yang can only assume is her mom says with open arms. “I’m so sorry for keeping you two waiting!” 

“It’s fine, mom.” Blake replies and the two embrace in the doorway. 

Yang misses the feeling of her girlfriend’s hand as she breaks away to hug her mom, but also understands that a group hug this early on would be a little weird. Once the two separate, they both turn to look at her, and the nervous feeling in Yang’s stomach intensifies. 

“Mom, this is Yang!” Blake says, extending her left arm out in the direction of her. “My girlfriend.” 

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Belladonna.” She sticks her hand outwards, not really knowing how to introduce herself in this scenario. But Kali brushes it aside and wraps her up in the same warm hug that she gave Blake moments ago. 

“Oh, please, call me Kali!” she says, and Yang is happily surprised that this is already going better than she expected. “But based on everything Blake’s been telling us, it sounds like you’ll be calling me mom before we know it!” 

“Mom!” Blake protests, but Yang notices that she doesn’t try to refute what she said. She grins and winks at her girlfriend before Kali pulls away. 

“Come in! Come in! Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes!” 

Kali ushers them inside and the large doors screech again as she shuts them. With her in the lead as they make their way through the house, Yang feels the comforting presence of Blake slipping her hand back into her own.

“Everything looks really nice mom!” Blake points upwards at the balcony on the second floor that is a different shade of wood from the walls. “You guys even put in the mahogany you and dad always wanted!” 

Kali turns her head to the right a little to face them. “Well, ever since the _incident_ , we’ve been making renovations all over the place. So, we have a perfect opportunity to re-do parts of the house the way we want them!” 

Yang’s head is on a swivel as she looks around the house. It’s just as large inside as the outside makes it seem to be, yet it also gives off a cozy, homey vibe. While Kali takes them on a tour of the house, Yang tries to focus on Blake and her mom talk about the tropical architecture instead of the butterflies still swarming in her stomach. 

The smell of cooked food wafts into the air the further into the house they walk, and for some reason, it distinctly reminds Yang of home and her dad’s cooking. 

“Wow, the dinner smells really good!” she says. 

“I’m glad you think so!” Kali pipes up as they turn a corner. “Ghira’s really outdone himself tonight! He wants to make sure you know we’re always here for you if you ever need something. Even if he doesn’t admit it.” 

She adds that last part in a hushed voice, and a nervous smile flashes on Yang’s face. Now she’s even _more_ worried about saying or doing something stupid and messing everything up. 

At long last, they finally arrive at their dining room, where a large man who Yang guesses to be Blake’s dad is carrying a tray with a pair of oven mitts on. 

“Oh! I need just a couple more minutes!” He says upon seeing the three of them. “The salad needs to be turned some more.” 

Ghira sets the tray down on the table among the other dishes, and as Yang looks at all the food, she now understands why the smell from earlier is so familiar. While some of the trays have usual dinner courses on them like meatloaf or lasagna, a couple are made up of the same meals Yang’s dad always makes for them whenever they’re home. 

Yang doesn’t think she’s ever had a conversation with Blake about the dinners her dad cooks for her; if anything, she’s only ever mentioned it casually. So when she looks over and sees the knowing and caring smile on her girlfriend’s face, Yang can’t help but smile too. 

“I’ll go help out your father.” Kali says, and motions them towards the table before following Ghira into the kitchen.

Yang feels her heart sink a little as she looks at the seating arrangement. It’s a medium sized table in the center of the room, with four pillows on the floor on each side of it, meaning that each one of them has their own side to sit behind. 

With all the time they spend together, either alone or with Ruby and Weiss, Yang is so used to having Blake right next to her that it feels strange and wrong to sit alone. 

She simply follows Blake to the table and sits cross legged on the pillow to the right of her girlfriend. But as she fidgets with a loose thread, Yang notices Blake subtly scoot her own pillow closer to her, almost to the point where she’s sitting at the corner of the table instead of the center. 

Yang smirks. She’s pretty sure they both know how silly it looks for Blake to be positioned at the far right end of the table, but the fact that her girlfriend is willing to do that helps the knot in Yang’s stomach loosen a little. 

“Thanks.” She lowers her voice a little so that Blake’s parents don’t hear her. “So… do you think they hate me?” 

Despite trying to be stealthy about it, her girlfriend laughs. “Well my mom already seems to love you, and my dad hasn’t said he doesn’t like you, so you’re actually doing pretty well.” 

“But your dad’s barely even talked to me yet.” 

“Which means you’re already doing better than the last time I brought someone home.” Blake replies. 

Before she can say another word, Ghira and Kali emerge from the kitchen with the last of the trays in their hands. They sit down on the two remaining pillows and don’t seem to notice, or at least don’t question Blake’s odd seating choice, which Yang is beyond grateful for. 

“Well I think we’ve all waited long enough for this!” Kali says cheerfully. “Let’s eat!” 

They all take helpings of food from the various dishes, and as the dinner continues on, the nervous feeling in Yang’s stomach dissipates. The way everyone at the table is casually talking and laughing reminds her of her own family dinners with her dad and Ruby. Except, of course, there’s no Zwei scurrying across the floor, begging for food and hoping Ruby sneaks in a few pieces of dinner for him. Which she always does. 

At first, Yang is worried that she’ll be an awkward third wheel at the table and Blake’s parents won’t pay her much attention. But they actually ask her questions throughout the meal, and Yang can’t help but feel genuinely cared about as they patiently listen to what she says and respond with more than just simple small talk. 

The conversation cycles between all sorts of different topics, between Blake protesting when her mom starts telling baby stories about her to her dad saying how proud he is of Blake for everything she did during her brief stay at Menagerie. Which eventually leads to the topic on how Blake, Yang, and the rest of their friends thwarted the attack at Haven Academy. 

“We’re so glad that you two are okay.” Kali says while reaching over for the salt. “After Ghira and I heard the reports of Adam showing up at the school and escaping the authorities, we were a little worried about you two.” 

At the mention of Adam’s name, an image of him suddenly flashes before Yang’s eyes, and the anxiety that usually accompanies it swells up inside her. Her left hand begins trembling, and while at first she tries to steady it by gripping the bottom of the table, Yang ends up simply placing it in her lap and hoping that neither of Blake’s parents caught on to it.

“Oops!” Blake interrupts her mom, dropping her fork on the floor in the space between them. And while she’s weirdly clumsy with her silverware, Blake has pinpoint accuracy when she reaches for Yang’s hand and laces their fingers together. 

“Oh dear, here let me go get you a new fork!” While Kali gets up and goes into the kitchen, Yang flashes Blake a small, but grateful smile. With Blake rubbing circles on the back of her hand, she feels herself calm down and her hand slowly stops shaking until it rests comfortably in her girlfriend’s. 

“Here you go, sweety.” 

Blake and Kali swap out the forks, and even though she’s relaxed again, Yang doesn’t plan on releasing her hand, and nor does Blake make any attempt to release her’s. Yang will gladly eat slower if it means getting to hold Blake. Even if it’s just her hand. 

It’s a little difficult to finish dinner with only one hand, but they both still manage to do just that, and without the suspicion of Blake’s parents. Some leftovers still remain in trays, including some bits of salad and meatloaf, but just about everything else is gone. Yang knows that she can’t take another bite of anything, and judging from the faces of everyone else at the table, they must feel the same way, too. 

“Alright, well, I think Yang and I are going to head up to my room now.” Blake says, setting down her silverware. “We still have to set up her sleeping bag.” 

Yang raises an eyebrow at her girlfriend. Truthfully, she never actually thought about where she’s going to asleep, she simply assumes they’re going to share a bed like they always do. “Wait, sleepin-” 

Before she can finish her sentence, Blake squeezes Yang’s hand and widens her eyes for a brief second. 

“Oh, uh, yeah, right.” 

“Alright, you two go on up, your father and I will clean up here.” Kali stands up and begins taking the trays off the table before turning to Yang. “Are you sure you’re alright with sleeping on the floor, we have a spare guest room if you’d like.” 

Yang nods. “I’m sure, thank you though, Mrs. Bell- I mean, Kali.” 

She offers Yang a warm smile and both Blake and Yang thank her parents for dinner before heading out of the dining room. 

The sound of the sink turning on faintly comes from behind them, and Yang can’t help but playfully hit Blake’s shoulder once they’re out of earshot. 

“Sleeping bag, huh?” she says teasingly. “Look at you being a little rebel.” 

“It would be kinda lonely not sleeping next to you…” Blake admits, and even though she’s looking down at the floor, Yang can still see traces of red in her girlfriend’s cheeks. 

They climb up the stairs and with a kiss to the top of Blake’s head, Yang smiles. “So, is your room going to be as nerdy as I think it’ll be?” 

Her girlfriend glances over her shoulder. “If you’re asking is it filled with books, then yeah.” 

“Mhmm, nerdy.” 

Blake playfully sighs and Yang lets out her own internal sigh of relief. They went through dinner without any problems, and more importantly, she didn’t embarrass herself or Blake in front of her parents. If anything, she thinks they _might_ actually like her! Now, the only logical next step to Yang is to try and figure out her girlfriend’s ring size. 


	2. On the train to Atlas

After a quick thank you to the chef behind her, Yang carefully balances the two bowls of noodles she’s carrying as she travels from the dining car back over to the one her and her teammates are in. But the train suddenly lurches to the right, and Yang has to stop and lean against the doorway of the train car so she won’t fall down. 

She grumbles to herself. Of course the ride would be smooth right up until they decide to have lunch!

Expecting the train to move again with her luck, Yang grips the bowls tighter and continues down the car until she spots the booth they saved in the corner. Except Ruby and Weiss are both missing, leaving only Blake looking out the window with her hands folded together on the table, and her shoulders hunched over slightly. Normally Yang would panic, but she notices all of their bags are still on the floor beneath the table. Plus, she doubts Blake would be sitting so calmly if anything happened while she was away. 

“Hey, good looking!” Yang teases as she slides into the booth next to Blake and sets the bowls down on the table. “I didn’t know we were going on a date!”

Blake turns to her and smiles, but Yang watches her gaze shift from her over to her bowl of noodles. 

Both of them are identical, except for a few lien more, Yang convinced the chef to top Blake’s with tuna despite it not being on the menu. She could tell that he thought it was odd and probably a little disgusting but didn’t say anything, which is good since Yang will gladly fight any Atlas bound, train riding chef that makes fun of her girlfriend. 

“Oh.. uh… your Uncle Qrow needed Ruby and Weiss for something...” Blake says, absentmindedly nodding her head at the empty seats across from them. “He said it would only take a few minutes.” 

Within seconds she pulls her bowl closer to her and begins devouring the mountain of tuna and noodles before Yang even has a chance to grab her own bowl. 

She laughs. “Huh, I thought you only ate like that when we’re in the bedr-” 

Blake’s eyes widen and she gulps down her noodles quickly. 

“Yang!” she half whispers, half shouts before Yang has the chance to finish her sentence. Blake frantically darts her eyes around the train car, but with how few passengers there are, there’s no way any of them heard her. 

She laughs, and kisses Blake’s now scarlet colored cheek. But as her lips press against her skin, she feels Blake suddenly shivers and the leather beneath them squeaks as she leans in towards her. After knowing her for years now, Yang knows for certain that the sudden jolt she just felt isn’t her girlfriend laughing, and now it’s her turn to be worried. 

“Blake?” The joking tone in her voice instantly fades away, and her arm instinctively curls around her girlfriend’s waist. “Are you okay?” 

She nods half-heartedly, but Yang can see through her ruse. “Y-yeah, I’m fine.” 

“Blake, you can tell me what’s wrong.”

There’s a shy expression on her face as she turns towards her. “I just…  _ really _ don’t like the cold, and I’ve been freezing ever since we got on the train.” 

“Wait, that’s it?” A wave of relief washes over Yang. She was dreading something  _ much _ worse, like Blake spotting Adam stalking them outside, or that she’s suddenly coming down with a cold. But at the same time, Yang doesn’t want Blake to feel like her problems are trivial. “Wait, I have an idea!” 

Reaching underneath the table, Yang keeps her left arm wrapped tightly around Blake while fishing around in her bag with the other. After rummaging inside of it for a few seconds and brushing her hand against some things that  _ definitely _ should not be taken out in a public setting, Yang finally finds what she needs. Or rather, what she thinks  _ Blake _ needs. 

She clips her bag shut and brings her hand upwards, triumphantly holding up her yellow scarf for Blake to see. “I know it’s not much, but, ta da!” 

She smiles. “Are you sure you won’t need it?” 

“I don’t really use it a whole lot, anymore.” Yang points at Blake’s bare stomach as she wraps and fluffs the scarf around her girlfriend’s neck. “Besides, I think you need it more than I do right now.” 

Judging from the look on her girlfriend’s face, Yang can tell that she’s already feeling warmer with the warm fabric tickling her neck. But seeing as it doesn’t do much to warm up the rest of her, Yang closes the gap between them in the booth. Blake turns her body in response so that she’s half facing Yang, half facing the table, and she wraps her own arms around Yang in a hug. 

“Thanks, Yang.” Blake says into her jacket. 

She smiles, and kisses the top of her girlfriend’s head. The bowl of noodles that Blake was so fixated on lays forgotten on the table in favor of cuddling with Yang. And while Yang is glad that she can be here to warm Blake up, a question still lingers in her mind. 

“Hey Blake?” 

Her girlfriends mumbles a small “Yes?”

“Why didn’t you tell us how cold you were?” 

Shuffling around next to her, Blake lifts her head up and rests her chin on Yang’s shoulder.

“I really hate the cold, and knew how freezing I would be once we got on the train.” She explains. “So if I told you guys that, I was worried we would have to go a different way and waste time all because I couldn’t take a little cold.” 

A sympathetic smile appears on Yang’s face, but she shakes her head. “Blake, you don’t have to keep your problems to yourself. You mean a lot more to us than some old, dusty relic. You mean a lot more to me…” 

Her girlfriend doesn’t respond, but the brief glimpse Yang gets of her smile and the way Blake snuggles against her again is enough of an answer for her. 


	3. Sick Day in Mistral

Holding onto a glass of milk in one hand, Blake places the other on Yang’s lower back, guiding her into the bedroom. 

“Are you sure this is all you want?” She asks. “I can run down to the pharmacy nearby and get some more cold medicine if you want.” 

Yang turns to her and although her eyes look beyond tired, she smiles. “Yes, for the hundredth time Blake, I’m fine.” 

Blake nods in response. She isn’t too sure how warm, whole milk and a day of rest can get rid of a cold, but she trusts Yang’s home remedies even if she doesn’t understand them. 

Once inside the bedroom they share with Ruby and Weiss at the safehouse in Mistral, she guides Yang over to her bed, which Blake has already turned into a fortress of pillows and blankets.

“When did you do all this?” Yang says, followed by a sniffle. 

“When you were downstairs and almost drank a glass of lemon juice instead of orange juice for breakfast.” Blake teases. 

“Hey, that’s not fair! The bottles look so similar!”

Laughing, Blake places a reassuring kiss on the top of her girlfriend’s head. “I know.” 

As she sets the glass of milk down next to the stack of tissue boxes on the nightstand, Yang climbs into the bed. She slides her legs under the covers and rests back into the mountain of pillows that Blake fluffed earlier before letting out a congested, but happy sigh. Holding the blankets up, Yang pauses before looking over at Blake expectedly. 

“Aren’t you coming in, too?” She asks, inviting her into the cave of pillows and blankets. 

Blake smiles. “Just gimmie a second.” 

Sticking her hand in her pocket, she takes out a rectangular game cartridge and holds it out towards Yang. 

“Ruby told me that this is your guys’ favorite video game.” Blake takes a moment to look at the title on the front of the cartridge. “Kung Fu Ninja Slayer Ultimate Death Battle Two?” 

Her girlfriend takes the video game and flips it around in her hands, smiling. “Yeah, whenever one of us gets sick we always play this. But I always make sure Ruby wins whenever she’s the sick one.” 

“I guess I’ll have to go easy on you so you’ll win, then.” 

Yang teasingly raises an eyebrow. “I’ll let you practice a little before you lose to me.” 

To be fair, her girlfriend is right. Blake has no idea how to play the game, or even what the game is about; although the two characters fighting on the cover of the cartridge give her a good idea. And even though she  _ might _ lose, Blake will do anything to help distract Yang from her cold. 

Walking across to the other side of the room, Blake inserts the cartridge into the Atlas entertainment console. After turning the tv from across the bed on, a chime sounds from its speakers before displaying the logo of what Blake assumes to be the maker of the game. 

A few seconds of tinkering later, Blake hooks her scroll up to the console, allowing her to use it instead of trying to find a controller. She hurries back to where Yang is waiting for her on the bed, and her girlfriend instantly snuggles up next to her before pulling the blankets over the both of them. Blake can faintly make out the scent of Yang’s lemon shampoo as she rests her head on her shoulder and nuzzles her neck.

“You can use my profile.” Her girlfriend lets out a long yawn. “I have almost everything unlocked, so you can get used to all the different weapons and moves.” 

Blake swipes through the different options on the main menu, and can’t help but smile at Yang’s profile name when she selects new game. 

“SunnyLittleDragon?” 

Even though most of her face is buried in Blake’s neck, she can still make out the red colored cheeks of her girlfriend. And she has a good feeling it’s not due to her cold. 

“My dad made it for me when I was a kid.” Yang mumbles. “There’s no reason for me to make a new one, and I don’t know… I kinda like it.” 

That last part comes out quieter than the rest, and Blake plants yet another kiss onto her girlfriend’s blonde hair. 

“Alright then,  _ SunnyLittleDragon _ , lemme practice a bit before I break your winning streak!” 

Yang shuffles around a bit and nuzzles her neck. “You’re definitely gonna need it!” 

Pressing the confirm button, the game loads up the tutorial level and the screen of Blake’s scroll changes into a mock controller. 

The first few levels are easy, although, they don’t exactly have much in them. Even for someone like Blake who rarely plays video games and is always holed up in a book, it’s pretty hard to mess up walking around the first level and interacting with static objects. Once the game starts introducing actual enemies to the levels, Blake manages to dodge their attacks and defeat them. She even surprises herself when she manages to perform an ultimate move with Yang’s character. 

But Blake’s luck runs out once she reaches the final stage of the tutorial level. 

“Ugh!” She sighs in frustration at the  _ Game Over _ message on the screen for the tenth time now. How is it fair that the enemy can summon ice storms seemingly whenever he wants, but she can only use fire tornados on a cooldown!? “Yang, can you help me just this once?” 

But there’s no response from her girlfriend. “Yang?” 

Blake turns to her. Still nestled on her shoulder, Yang’s eyes are closed, and coupled with her quiet snoring, she must have fallen asleep without Blake even realizing it. Which explains why her girlfriend didn’t tease her at all despite dying so many times in the game. 

Getting up to turn off the game and take it out of the console will just wake Yang up, so Blake instead uses her scroll to mute the volume and dim the screen’s brightness. She places her scroll on the nightstand next to her and pulls the blankets a little tighter around them, making sure to take extra care to not wake Yang up. 

After one final check to make sure her girlfriend is comfortable and warm, Blake brushes a light kiss against Yang’s forehead and closes her own eyes with a smile on her face.


	4. A sleepy morning

Yang lets out a yawn as she groggily wakes up. For the first time in a couple weeks, she didn’t wake up at all during the night, and actually feels rested. Part of the reason might be that Yang is in an  _ actual _ bed and not sleeping on the floor of an abandoned house like they all were last night. But she also thinks that snuggling with Blake before bed played a pretty big part in her current happy mood.

Rolling her head to the right on the pillow, Blake is still in the same position she was in when they fell asleep, with her head nestled in the crook of Yang’s neck. Beneath the comforter, she can feel her girlfriend’s arm draped over her stomach, and an occasional snore punctuates the silence, which Yang finds adorable. 

Even though the curtains in the bedroom are still closed, sunlight streams in through them, but Yang guesses that it must still be early in the morning as she can’t hear the rest of their friends. If Saphron had called them down for breakfast already, she’s pretty sure Nora’s excitement for pancakes would have woken up not only them, but the entire house, too. 

Usually, Yang puts on her arm after waking up, but she has no problem making an exception for today. The warmth of the bed and the safe feeling she experiences cuddling with Blake is too alluring for her. Attaching her arm will just bring her one step closer to getting out of bed, which is the exact opposite of what Yang wants to do. 

Although, she probably should still wake Blake up so they don’t end up sleeping until noon. 

Yang bends her head down and presses a soft kiss to the top of Blake’s head, right between her ears. It causes them to flick sideways, and her girlfriend lets out a sleepy grumble at the feeling. But Blake still doesn’t move — in fact, she buries her head deeper.

With a smile, Yang tries again and adds just a tad more force this time. It seems to have a greater effect, as Blake’s ears twitch again, and this time, she shuffles her head around slightly. 

Knowing her weakness now, Yang showers her girlfriend in kisses, planting a new one every few seconds until Blake eventually lifts her head up. 

“Jokes on you…” The covers rise up as Blake does a cat-like stretch under them. “I’ve been awake for the past minute now.” 

“Good morning to you too, sleepy.” Yang replies, and her girlfriend rests her head back on her shoulder. 

Blake briefly reaches up and brushes a kiss against her cheek. “Good morning!”

A warm feeling fills Yang’s chest as she gazes at the smile on Blake’s face. It’s a rare smile, the kind that only appears whenever they’re around each other. Not the Blake has a fake smile, but the one she has now is reserved solely for her; almost like a secret Blake decides to share with her. Yang equates it to the feeling of genuine happiness that bubbles up inside of her whenever they get some time to each other. 

“So, are you ready for another day of saving the world and ourselves?” 

“Nope!” Blake mumbles plainly into Yang’s neck. “But I’ll take five more minutes in bed.” 

Yang can’t help but smile. She is extremely comfortable right now, and with how fortified Blake is next to her — nuzzling her neck and kissing her jaw every so often, there’s no way she can leave the bed. 

Bending down slightly, Yang kisses the tip of her girlfriend’s nose this time, and rests her head against Blake’s before pulling the comforter closer to them and sinking down in the bed. 

“Alright, five more minutes.” Yang promises. 

They’ve spent the past few months saving the world, most notably protecting a magical relic and saving a school from utter destruction. They can spare a few minutes. 


	5. Game Night

“And I’m going to put down my fourth huntress!” Ruby announces proudly, placing a card down on the game board. “Thus giving me a complete team ready to kick your butts!” 

“Yeah, you go Ruby!” Nora cheers from the couch. 

Next to her, Ren gives her a confused look. “Wait, are we taking sides now?” 

“Of course, dummy! Ruby’s playing as Mistral so we’re rooting for her!” 

Lined up in a row in front of her are four cards, and Blake can read the titles ‘ _ Huntsman’  _ or ‘ _ Huntress’ _ written across the top of each one. Although, they’re upside down since she’s sitting across from Ruby. 

“Hope you haven’t made up a name for them yet.” Yang says, lifting her arms out of the blanket she has on her legs and crossing them over her chest. “‘Cause once it’s my turn, they’re gonna be Team DUST!” 

“Pft, your phoenixes won’t stand a chance against them! And besides, it’s Blake’s turn, not yours!” 

Blake is broken from her concentration at the sound of her name. “Wait, what did you say?” 

“I just finished up my turn! It’s yours now!” 

She nods. For the past few minutes, Blake’s been watching Weiss and Ruby carry out their turns, hoping to pick up on how to play the game. She would have read the rulebook, but when Ruby came barging in through the door of Saphron's house all excited with the sequel to her favorite board game in her arms only a few minutes ago, none of them had the heart to turn down a game. Besides, with everything they’ve been through, Blake figures they can all use some downtime anyway. 

Ruby managed to set the game up in less than ten minutes, including the ten booster packs she bought alongside the main game. At first, Blake wondered how Ruby managed to get buy all of that, but she found her answer when she saw her hand Weiss back her Lien card. 

So here Blake is, trying to fight for domination of Remnant without knowing how to actually do that.

Blake studies the cards in her hand as she shuffles through them. Grimm Vulture, Sand Guardian, Desert Outpost, Cavalry Stampede… 

From what she manages to piece together, each unit card has its two abilities, and each event card only has a single ability, and gets discarded after being played. But Blake has no idea  _ what _ the abilities do or how to use them, despite being detailed on each card. 

“Umm, who am I playing as again?” Blake asks and instantly turns to Yang for help. 

Her girlfriend smiles. “We’re supposed to be playing against each other, so it’s a little treasonous for me to be helping out a rival kingdom.” 

Blake folds her ears down and frowns, looking at Yang with sad eyes — a look that she rarely uses, but knows it always works. 

A few seconds go by and Yang tries to ignore Blake, but she sighs and points at the board. “You’re playing as Vacuo, and now you have to play a card from your hand.” 

“Right, got it.” 

She looks at the game board, and sure enough, the words  _ Kingdom of Vacuo _ are written in cursive on the land mass in front of her. Now it makes sense why so many of Blake’s cards are desert and heat themed. But that still doesn’t give her any clue of what card to play, or what ‘ _ Move this unit 2 hexes into the outer regions’ _ even means. 

Yang must have picked up on the helplessly confused look on her face, as she places her cards face down on the carpet and sits next to her, the blanket covering her legs falling to the floor in the process. “Here, lemme see what you have.” 

Blake isn’t so sure that showing Yang her hand is the best idea in a competitive game like this. But she trusts her girlfriend enough to not sabotage her, and leans her cards over to Yang so she can see them. 

She reads over Blake’s cards for a few seconds and opens her mouth, but before she says a word, she’s interrupted by Ruby pointing a finger at Yang. 

“Traitor!” She says in mock annoyance. “You’re only helping out Blake because you two are dating!” 

“Yeah, that and she’s pretty cute, too.” 

Blake looks down at the game board blushing, trying to ignore the dorky smile on her girlfriend’s face. 

“Well then on behalf of the Kingdom of Mistral, I declare war on  _ both _ of you!” Ruby says. 

Blake lifts her head up and looks at Yang again. “Umm, can she do that?” 

“Maybe?” Yang shrugs her shoulders. “I think you could declare war whenever you wanted in the last game.” 

Although Blake doesn’t know what is actually involved in war in the game, she has a pretty good idea that it can’t be good for her. “So… what do I do about that?” 

Yang clears her throat and smiles. 

“Well, it means that our kingdoms should unite together to protect our people against my tyrannical sister.” Yang extends her right hand outwards. “And I can’t think of a higher honor than having you as my queen.” 

Blake feels the heat rise to her face and can’t fight back the smile that spreads across her face. While she loves reading fiction, she didn’t know that there would be a roleplaying element to this game! 

Blake places her hand in Yang’s. “I don’t know, will it work?” 

“I swear to protect us from any Grimm or rogue huntresses that try to hurt our people, and to ensure the safety of our kingdoms.” 

Yang squeezes Blake’s hand gently and leans over to whisper in her ear. “Also, I always beat Ruby in the first game, so this one should be easy, too!”

“Then I would be happy to accept.”

Yang seals her promise with a kiss on her cheek and gathers up her cards on the table, bringing them over to their new shared side of the board. Blake scoots over, giving Yang more room on the floor, and her girlfriend grabs the blanket that slipped off her lap earlier. 

“Hold on a minute!” Weiss says as Yang drapes the blanket over her and Blake’s legs. “If you two are teaming up against Ruby, then I’m siding with her!” 

Ruby’s face lights up. “Aww, yeah, now I have  _ my _ amazing girlfriend to back me up!” 

A shy smile appears on Weiss’ face, and Blake is fairly certain she can hear her whisper “ _ Dolt _ ” underneath her breath. 

“I thought it was treasonous to team up with people you’re dating.” Yang quips, and Ruby sticks out her tongue in response. 

“Enough with the cutesy stuff already!  _ Even though I love it.” _ Nora says that last part quietly. She hops off the couch and takes the spot on the floor that Yang vacated. “I wanna see some fighting!” 

Blake and Yang each give each other a confident look and with her girlfriend’s advice, she finally plays a card — Sand Guardian. She still has no clue what most of the cards do or how to play, but with Yang by her side, Blake’s ready for whatever Ruby and Weiss throw at them! 


	6. Stargazing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It feels a little odd to be talking about cold Atlesian nights during a heatwave, so I hope you all get some cool thoughts from this chapter!

“Come on, Blake! Weiss said that this is one of the best nights to go out and see them!” 

Blake takes a few seconds to finish the sentence she’s on before looking up from her book. Despite her girlfriend’s insistence on getting up, she cozies up under the blanket Yang placed on her earlier. 

“I don’t know, Yang.” Blake says. “I’m really getting into my book, and it’s kinda cold outside.” 

She tries to hide behind her book again, but Yang doesn’t give up so easily; yet another trait of her girlfriend that she loves. Kneeling down in front of her, she gently pulls Blake’s book down to her lap, and the page she’s reading is instead replaced with Yang’s smiling face. 

She holds three fingers out in front of Blake and begins counting on them. “One, it’s a beautiful night. Two, I’ve already seen you read that book before, and three, I promise I’ll keep you warm.” 

With a sigh, Blake reaches for the kitten shaped bookmark on the table next to her. Originally, Yang got it for her as a gag gift, but Blake couldn’t deny that it looked cute. Plus, the ears on the top didn’t blend in with the pages of her books, thus making it easier for her to flip open to the right page. 

Blake slips the bookmark towards the center of the page and shuts it before placing it on the table next to her. 

“You better promise that you’ll keep me warm out there!” She teases, sliding out from the blanket and standing up. 

Before Blake can even take another step, Yang wraps her up in a hug and matches it with an equally loving kiss to the top of her head. “I always will.” 

Blake blushes. If this is a sample of how her girlfriend is going to keep her warm outside, then maybe this is the perfect night to go stargazing! 

Before any of their friends walk into the living room and tell them to get a room, the two detach from each other and head towards the front door of Saphron’s house. Thankfully, Jaune’s sister was generous enough to lend them some winter coats, seeing as none of them are exactly prepared for the cold weather with their current outfits. 

Yang puts on her yellow jacket while Blake’s puts on her purple one; topping it off with the scarf she borrows from her girlfriend. Although, with how much Yang keeps letting her use it, it might as well be her own scarf at this point. 

Once they’re ready, a gust of cold air bursts again Blake’s face as Yang opens the front door. It serves as a reminder of exactly why she didn’t want to leave the warmth of the house, and Blake already wishes she was back in the chair, all curled up. 

But she follows Yang outside, and as soon as she steps foot onto the brick steps outside the front door, her girlfriend wraps an arm around her shoulders. Together, they sit down on the front stoop and Blake instantly cuddles up next to Yang. 

While the initial shock of cold air was bad, Blake has to admit that it’s not  _ that  _ cold out. But the way Yang is holding her and how she’s using her girlfriend’s wavy blonde hair as a shield against the frigid temperature is probably the main cause for that. 

She feels a kiss being pressed to her forehead. “You can’t look at the stars from my shoulder, dork.” 

As much as Blake would rather  _ not _ lift herself out from the little cocoon of warmth she’s created, Yang is right. It would kinda defeat the whole purpose of going outside if she doesn’t even admire the stars with her girlfriend. 

And upon lifting her head and following the direction of where her girlfriend is pointing, admire is exactly what Blake does. 

“Woah…” 

Above them, the night sky is completely lit up with hundreds of stars — too many for Blake to count. The last time she saw so many was back in Menagerie, which is famous for how beautiful the island’s nights are. But it seems that the Atlas border might have her home beat in that regard. 

Blake gets lost in trying to discern the different constellations, and she completely forgets how cold it is as she admires the scenery. Some she recognizes from various books she’s read in the past, while others are new to her, and Blake figures must only be visible in certain parts of Remnant. 

As Blake’s eyes scan the sky, though, she notices Yang staring at her out of the corner of her eye, smiling. 

“What?” She can’t help but mirror the smile on her girlfriend’s face. “You’re already tired of looking at the stars?” 

Yang shakes her head. “I don’t need to look up when I have the most beautiful star right next to me.” 

Blake’s cheeks turn red, which is a common occurrence whenever she’s with her girlfriend. And the color deepens to scarlet as Yang cups her face and leans forward, capturing Blake’s lips in a gentle and loving kiss. 


	7. Practicing for the ball

“Alright, that should do it!” Weiss says as she pushes the final chair out of the way. “Now before we begin, does anyone have any questions. 

Almost instantly, Ruby, Blake, and Yang all raise their hands in the dining room turned dance floor. 

“Are you sure that the Atlas Ball is the only way to sneak in?” Yang asks. 

Next to her, Blake quickly adds, “And are you sure Saphron is alright with us using the room to practice dancing?” 

“Is the Atlas Ball actually real, or are you just trying to make us learn how to dance?” 

Ruby’s question makes her sister snicker, and Blake has to playfully hit her knee to make her stop. 

Placing a hand on her hip, Weiss rolls her eyes, but the smile on her face betrays her look of annoyance. “ _ Yes _ , to all of you. The Atlas Ball is only held once a year, and winning the competition might be our only chance to get to Ironwood, so I’m going to make sure we’re all ready for it. 

“Come on, you’ll be my partner Ruby.” She says, pointing at her after rolling up the sleeves of her dress. 

“Alrighty!” She replies cheerily and gets up from her chair. 

As Ruby walks over to Weiss, Yang smiles and holds her hand out towards Blake. “Ugh, great, I’m stuck with the cute one.” 

Blushing slightly, she smiles, and laces their fingers together before standing up. “I guess that makes two of us, then.” 

She leads Yang over to the center of the kitchen, where Weiss has already begun teaching a very confused Ruby on the proper ways to hold her. 

“But you never said anything about all the other times we’ve danced before!” She pouts. “Wait, have I been dancing the wrong way my whole life!?”

“No, you’ve been perfect.” Weiss places a hand under Ruby’s chin and whispers quietly. Although Yang can still hear her, and considering Blake has good hearing, she probably can, too. “It’s just that most people in Atlas are uptight about these kinds of things.” 

Upon noticing the pair standing next to them, Weiss clears her throat and instantly returns to her previous pose with Ruby, her usually pale cheeks turning a shade of pink. 

“Right, so,” she begins and holds her arms up for Blake and Yang to see. “This is the standard position you’ll be in for most of the ball. I’m sure there will be plenty of classical music, so expect a lot of slow dancing.” 

The two of them mimic Weiss’ movements — Yang bends her right elbow downwards, holding Blake’s hand up in the air while grasping the other one. Even though she’s with Blake, the position still feels awkward, and understands the look of slight annoyance on Ruby’s face. 

Weiss looks down at the floor at her and Ruby’s feet but then shoots her head back up and raises her eyebrows. 

“I almost forgot! We have to register as pairs at the ball, so we’ll need to come up with names.” 

Yang furrows her brow in confusion. It’s bad enough they have to learn how to dance like a bunch of rich snobs from Atlas, but now they also have to come up with a creative team name? 

The look on Blake’s face, though, shows that she has no problem in making one up. 

“What about Bumblebee for us?” she asks, looking at her girlfriend. “It’s already what our fighting style is called, and I think fits pretty well as a team name.” 

“Oh! And it even fits the colors you two are wearing!” Ruby adds. “Weiss! Can we be called Icerose? Please?” 

“Icerose?” She snorts. “Ruby, ice isn’t a color, it’s a form of water. We should use colors so we match with Blake and Yang.” 

Ruby pauses and looks to the side, thinking. “Oh! What about Whiterose! White _is_ a color so you can't say no!” 

After a few seconds Weiss nods, smiling. “That actually sounds pretty good. Huh that was easier than I thought it’d be!” 

Weiss straightens her back, which Ruby then attempts to do also, and she returns her gaze to the tiled kitchen floor. 

“Now, this is how you’re going to dance for the first few rounds of the ball. I’ll go slowly so you can all watch, and then we’ll practice.” 

She brings her right foot up and forward, and has to nudge Ruby’s left foot when she doesn’t move. Taking the cue, she steps backwards and Weiss fills the empty space by inching closer. They do the same but with the opposite feet this time, and for the next few minutes, Weiss slowly, but gracefully whisks Ruby across the kitchen floor with her until they end up in the same spot they started in.

“So, did you guys get all of that?” Weiss asks. 

Yang shrugs her shoulders. “More or less.” 

“Well, let’s try it out for the next few minutes.” Weiss says, lifting her arms up in preparation. “And it’s alright if you need to go slow, we have all day to practice!” 

Yang turns her attention back to Blake and positions their arms in a similar manner to Ruby and Weiss next to them. “Care for a dance?” 

Blake smiles. “Only if it’s with you.” 

Lifting her right foot off the ground, Yang makes the first move, and the pair begin copying the movements Weiss taught them a few minutes ago.

The way that they’re dancing reminds Yang of the night of the Beacon dance, and while it’s similar to the mock ball they’re holding in the kitchen now, it’s also different.

The smiling Blake in front of her now is a lot more relaxed than when they were students, and her movements are more fluid. Her girlfriend’s amber eyes are bright with nothing but joy and love, which is so much better than how drained and stressed Blake looked in the days before the dance. 

Thinking back on it, it was during the dance that Yang first realized she had feelings for Blake. There was just something about the way Blake held her during their first dance that it finally struck Yang, something about how every time Blake laughed or smiled at her that night, her heart did a flip. It still does. 

“Hey.” With a smile, Blake cups Yang’s cheek in her hand, pulling her out of her imagination. “You almost stepped on my toes twice, and if you do it a third time, I think that’ll get us disqualified.” 

“Sorry.” Yang can’t prevent the smile that appears on her own face. “Do you remember the dance back at Beacon?” 

Blake nods. “You made sure that I went despite how rude I was to you, and you wanted my first dance to be with you.” 

“Can you blame me? I wanted it to be with the prettiest girl in the room.” 

Blake moves closer to her and gently rests her forehead against Yang’s. By now, they’re no longer following Weiss’ instructions on the proper ways to dance. Yang’s hands are placed on Blake’s hips, while her girlfriend has her arms linked around her neck. Even without any music playing in the background, their bodies are perfectly in sync as they gently sway back and forth. 

“You know, once we get to Atlas, we’re going to have to go shopping for dresses.” Blake says. 

“It’ll be pretty hard to choose one since you look beautiful in everything.” Yang replies. “So I hope you’re alright with trying on every one in the store.” 

Her girlfriend responds with a smirk. “Only if you’ll help me put them on.” 

Blake unhooks her left arm and brings it down before playing with some loose strands of Yang’s messy blonde hair. She smiles as her girlfriend gently tucks it behind her ear, and leans into Blake, closing her eyes. Yang’s heart beats a little quicker in her chest as she tilts her head to the right a little, but right as their lips are about to meet, Weiss suddenly interrupts them. 

“Hey, Lovebees!” 

Snapping their eyes open, they awkwardly pull away from each other before turning their heads to look at Weiss, who’s dancing with a slightly embarrassed looking Ruby. The pair are so caught up that they forgot they weren’t alone in the kitchen, and their now red tinged cheeks are proof enough of it. 

“We can practice our free style dancing later on for when that part comes up at the ball.” Weiss says. “But for now, we  _ have _ to work on our ballroom dancing.” 

They both nod to her shyly, and Blake turns back to Yang. “Raincheck?” 

“I don’t know…” Yang whispers back, and she pretends to be in deep concentration. “I charge interest on missed and delayed kisses.” 

“Then I guess I’ll just have to make it up to you later tonight.” Blake says with a wink. 

Before she gets  _ too _ tempted to bring Blake into their bedroom upstairs and continue where they left off, Yang holds her girlfriend the same way as Weiss and Ruby next to them. 

Although, she still leans into Blake quickly and steals a kiss before they start. “Come on, we have a dance tournament to win.” 


	8. Next Stop, Atlas

For the third time in the past ten minutes, Blake opens her eyes and sighs in frustration as she stares up at the dark ceiling. But instead of forcing them shut and pretending to be asleep like the other two times, she decides to stay awake. 

She’s lying down in the Atlas airship they stole from the airfield, with her head resting in Yang’s lap. Although  _ stole _ might be the wrong word since Cordovin more or less said they could take it after all the chaos with the Leviathan. 

With her head rolled over to the right, Blake can see Ren and Nora fast asleep, with her orange haired friend leaning against him as she snores. For his part, Jaune has an odd sleeping arrangement, using his shield as a headrest while keeping it standing up with his sword. While it might work now, Blake wonders how steady the setup will be once the airship starts rocking around. In sharp contrast to that, Oscar chose to simply lean back against Maria’s seat and fall asleep with his arms folded across his chest. 

When you take an airship without seats and not meant for long travel, though, you have to make do with whatever you can to sleep. 

Blake swivels her head slowly, careful to not wake Yang up with any sudden movements, until she’s looking up at the ceiling of the ship. From over the top of her knees, she can see Ruby and Weiss sitting next to them, with the latter resting her head on the former’s shoulder. Although it’s hard to see, especially since there’s no interior lighting in the ship, Blake is fairly certain she can see Weiss’ fingers laced together with Ruby’s as the two of them sleep.

She then turns her focus to Yang, and simply watches her with an ever so small smile on her face. Her chest slowly rises to take in air, pauses for a second, and then goes back down at the same rate. Yang’s left hand rests on Blake’s stomach, and she would hold it, but she knows that would just wake her girlfriend up. And after everything they’ve been through, combined with the peaceful look on Yang’s face, Blake doesn’t want to interrupt her sleep. She feels safe just having her here.

So after a quick survey of everyone in the ship, Blake confirms that everyone else is sleeping. Except, of course, Maria and Qrow, but considering they’re piloting the ship, they  _ shouldn’t _ be, anyway. But out of all her friends, Blake’s the only one who just can’t fall asleep. 

She can chalk up a lot of things for her restlessness. The fact that they’re flying in an airship going over a hundred miles an hour isn’t the most welcoming environment for a good night’s rest. A low hum emits from the two turbines situated in the back of the ship, and one of the two joysticks in the drivers’ seats squeaks every so often as Maria or Qrow make adjusts in the ship’s flight path. 

But the real cause for Blake’s inability to sleep is, well,  _ everything.  _

Her and Yang’s fight with Adam is still fresh in her memory, and she can remember every fine detail as if it happened only moments ago. From the moment of relief when Yang hopped off her motorcycle and touched down next to her, to the feeling of her girlfriend’s hand calming down when she held it. 

Blake especially remembers plunging her broken kitana into Adam at the same time as Yang, and seeing him fall over the rocks in defeat. Thinking back on it she’s… relieved. 

Not in a callous, evil way, but as if a massive weight has been finally lifted off her and Yang’s shoulders. She spent countless nights having nightmares of Adam hurting Yang, and ever since Blake left Menagerie and reunited with her friends, she reminds herself every so often of the fact that he was probably still stalking her and watching her every move even after the incident at Haven Academy. 

But while Blake is glad that Adam is finally gone from their lives, she’s left with so many questions. With both him and Sienna Khan gone, what’s going to happen with the White Fang? Is there going to be some new splinter group that forms and carries on Adam’s vision, or will it finally return to the ways of peaceful protest? How will the Faunus even fight for equal rights without an organization to turn to?

“Hey, you’re supposed to be sleeping.” 

The silence of the airship is broken by Yang’s gentle whispering, and she looks up at her. Her eyes are sleepily only half open, but in the darkness, she can make out a subtle smile on her face. It’s a rare sight as of late, with the threat of Salem and the Grimm always following them, but Blake notices that whenever Yang does smile, it’s always because of her.

“So are you.” Blake simply replies. She’s too exhausted for a friendly comeback. 

“Touche.” 

She hears Yang’s hand shuffle around near her head, and lets out a purr as her girlfriend begins gently scratching her cat ears. A while ago, Blake let it slip that she loves the feeling of them being played with, and Yang has made sure to take advantage of that whenever she can. 

The feeling of Yang tussling around her hair makes her forget her restlessness for a moment, until her girlfriend’s next words reminds her of it again.

“Thinking about Adam?” 

Blake shrugs her shoulders. That’s the easy answer, but not the actual one. “Bit of everything, actually.” 

Yang lets out a yawn, and when she feels her girlfriend’s fingers cease playing with her ears, Blake thinks she’s fallen asleep again. 

“I know.” Yang says after a long pause. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in Atlas, or beyond, or even what we’re going to do with Salem.” 

Silence follows for a few seconds before she continues. “But I promise I’m  _ never _ leaving you Blake. Whatever gets thrown at us, we’re gonna get through it together.”

Blake smiles and despite the airship’s poor heating arrangements, a warm feeling fills her chest. It’s the same promise Blake made to her back at the waterfall, with the addition of her own. It feels kinda weird to be sharing a moment with their friends surrounding them, but she doesn’t care. 

“I love you, Yang.” Blake says, and locks her hand with the one Yang has on her stomach. 

“I love you too, Blake.” Yang returns the smile on her face. “Now come on, we better go sleep so we’re not dead tired once we’re at Atlas.” 

Blake nods and instead of turning right, she instead rolls her head to the left and tucks herself into Yang. She can make out the faint traces of her girlfriend’s abs as she rests her cheek against her stomach and her head slowly rises up and down to the pace of Yang’s breathing. 

“Good night, Blake.” she hears Yang whisper. 

Blake snuggles in closer. “Good night, Yang.” 

To be honest, ‘good night’ can mean waking up in ten minutes or ten hours — Blake doesn’t know. Even once they arrive in Atlas, she has no idea what they’re next step is going to be, or who might be trying to take them down next. Plus, there’s the worry in the back of Blake’s head about what people will say or do to them upon seeing that she’s a faunus, given the Schnee Dust Company and Atlas’ opinion in general of any faunus. 

But what Blake  _ does _ know is that she has her friends, and more importantly, she has Yang. And Yang has her. And that’s all Blake needs to be certain that everything is going to be okay. They can encounter hundreds of hateful Atlesians, but as long as they’re together, Blake feels safe. 

The comfort and warmth of snuggling up with Yang casts a spell over her, and this time when Blake closes her eyes to drift to sleep, she doesn’t have to force them shut. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, looks like Bumbleby Week ended as soon as it began. I just wanna say thanks to everyone who stopped by and read and supported all these one-shots. It was my first time doing something like this, so hey, maybe I'll do it again for the next ship week that comes up. But I can promise this won't be the end of RWBY pieces from me! So again, thanks so much for reading!


End file.
